For generations, West Virginia Republicans complained about the one-party rule of the Democrats. The tables have turned now and power in Charleston rests with the GOP. Their super-majorities in the West Virginia Legislature have empowered Republicans to do pretty much whatever they want.
And that “to do” list has grown long on cultural issues. For example:
Republicans are moving a bill to prevent the teaching of Critical Race Theory in West Virginia public schools. CRT is not part of the curriculum now, but Republicans want to make a statement and, presumably, prevent the controversial lesson plan from making it here.
Another bill would ban gender-affirming surgery for minors, even though that is not a procedure that West Virginia doctors perform. The legislation may well interfere with families who have children struggling with gender dysphoria.
HB 2008 requires “all local entities of the state to enforce immigration laws.” This bill is supposed to prevent West Virginia communities from becoming “sanctuary cities.”
A bill has cleared the Senate requiring the national motto “In God We Trust” to be posted in West Virginia public schools. Bill sponsor Senator Mike Azinger said struggling students may “look up one day and say, ‘In God We Trust’ and know they can put their hope in God.”
I’ll start with giving the backers of these bills the benefit of the doubt, that they believe these are important issues that they were sent to Charleston to deal with. The overwhelming support for these and similar bills among Republican lawmakers suggests this is what their constituents want.
CRT, sanctuary cities and sex reassignment are more national issues than local, or at least there are stories about these subjects that capture the attention of the national media, especially the conservative media. Politics have become more nationalized, so issues migrate from the top down, from national to local.
A voter in West Virginia may get riled when they see a story about Portland, Oregon as a sanctuary city, even though the odds of that happening in their town are next to nil. Angry voters are likely voters and a few of them are motivated enough to run for office.
Republicans used to preach smaller government and warn against overreach, but what does it mean to be a conservative today in West Virginia?
William F. Buckley, the stalwart of the conservative movement of the last half of the 20th century, wrote of his philosophy, “I will not cede more power to the state.” President Ronald Reagan, who merged conservative philosophy with winning politics, said in his famous A Time for Choosing speech in 1964, “The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.”
Republican legislators certainly are not liberals, but they’re tempted by their super majorities to use the power of the state to impose their will on others, often with little or no evidence of the perceived benefits.
And that is the inevitable consequence of one-party rule.